Hedley plays to 5,000-plus crowd at Abbotsford Centre

The band Hedley played to a hometown crowd of about 5,000 people on Monday night at Abbotsford Centre.

The stop was part of the band’s Cageless 32-city tour that also includes stops tonight at Victoria’s Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre (Feb. 6), CN Centre in Prince George (Feb. 8) and Kelowna’s Prospera Place (March 23).

The tour also features opening acts Shawn Hook and Neon Dream.

Hedley originated in Abbotsford in 2003. Lead singer Jacob Hoggard gained international attention when, based on a $150 bet from his bandmates, he auditioned for the TV show Canadian Idol and made it to the top three before being eliminated.

SEE ALSO: Boy, 11, wins contest to sing with Hedley

The band members went their separate ways, but the band soon reformed, with Hoggard as the only original member.

Hedley’s seventh studio album is called Cageless, recorded at Vancouver’s Warehouse Studio and set for release on Sept. 29 by Universal Music Canada. The R&B-flavoured song Love Again, already a hit, is the album’s first single.

Alex Cuba, who lives in Smithers, B.C., has been writing a lot of music this winter. On the phone with the Peninsula News Review, Cuba joked that it was a way to stay warm (it was minus 7 when he called).